


Countdown

by tacendaparker16



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adorable Peter, Avengers Family, Avengers Feels, Bittersweet, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, New Years, Peter Parker Deserves Better, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker-centric, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Michelle Jones, Team as Family, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tacendaparker16/pseuds/tacendaparker16
Summary: As the clock counts down, Peter Parker recalls memories from over the past year. And to say it's a lot is quite the understatement.But that's okay, because he can get through anything as long as MJ is by his side to clear the storm clouds away.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark
Kudos: 20





	Countdown

The Team sat huddled in the living room, anxiously awaiting to ring in the New Year. The group looked out the tall window of Stark Tower as the ball glowed brightly down below. Cheers could be heard all the way from up here, and the exciting energy was really starting to rub off on the Team. 

Peter laid in the corner of couch with his girlfriend, MJ, sprawled across his chest comfortably, his fingers combing gently through her curly hair. Ned sat next to them, talking excitedly with Bruce about gamma radiation. Helen Cho sat quietly next to Bruce, listening intently, while Pepper held Morgan behind the couch they sat on. Clint, Thor, Vision, Bucky, Steve, Happy and Wanda stood near the window watching the excitement go down on the streets below. 

Suddenly, Clint spoke up. "Guys, it's starting!" he shouted as he held up his glass of champagne. Soon, others joined in. 

As the Team started counting down, however, Peter didn't count with them. Instead, his mind was other places. Wandering off into the void of his thoughts, the shouts became distant to him as the thoughts came rushing back with each tick of the trailing clock. 

_Ten!_

Ten months since the resolving of the Blip. Ten months since the Battle of Thanos. Ten months since the world had been brought back at the cost of Tony Stark. Ten months since Peter had lost his father figure, and since Morgan had lost her dad. 

_Nine!_

Nine times Peter had mindlessly swung to the Compound just to see the team after the Blip. He missed his family. 

_Eight!_

Eight trips to MJ’s small New York apartment, just on the edge of Queens facing downtown Manhattan. Eight times Peter had barely been able to swing to her window before he bled out after some incident on his Spider-Man duties. Eight times MJ had stitched him up, fixed his wounds, and told him off for not being more careful. 

_Seven!_

Seven times Happy had made stops to Peter and May’s apartment, claiming to be “checking to make sure the suit was okay.” Seven times he was really just checking to make sure Peter was doing well. He’d never tell, though. Besides, Peter already knew. 

_Six!_

Six events Spider-Man had starred in, in an effort to help the community after the Blip. Some for the homeless, some for the Red Cross, some for Make a Wish and many more. Six photoshoots. Six interviews, one of which was even for Good Morning America. Six events in which Peter had to pretend he knew how to act in the huge steps he was left behind in after the death of the "Invincible" Iron Man. 

_Five!_

Five new enemies Spider-Man had made. Turns out, petty criminals seem to think they have all the power in the world when the “world’s greatest hero” dies. 

_Four!_

Four trips to the coffee shop with Clint Barton. The two became closer after the Blip, and Peter was able to help him out a lot emotionally in the absence of Natasha, who had been his best friend for longer than he could remember. He was there when she died, when she sacrificed herself for the sake of the universe. The ex-SHIELD Agent had faced even more PTSD after the events at Vormir, and his guilt about surviving seemed to be too much for him to handle at times. Peter was one of the people he trusted most. He was like a nephew to Clint. 

_Three!_

Three trips Upstate to Pepper and Morgan’s lake house. They were like the family he never had. The type he hadn’t gotten the chance to experience since he was six. The type that had left him with his parents in the plane crash. The type he had always longed for. 

_Two!!_

Two months since Peter had attempted to put down the suit in favor of a normal life. He quickly decided, however, that it simply wasn’t right for him. After returning to his duties as Spider-Man, he had used his new-found Avenger fame to secure a stable job for his Aunt May at the nearest hospital. She wouldn’t have to stress about money for a while, if her fortune continued. And Peter would make sure it did. 

_One!!_

The one thing he cared about now. Right in this moment. The girl in his arms. The one who had helped him through it all. Peter and MJ had been together since June, when he had taken down Mysterio. Upon their return to New York, MJ had helped him time and time again through his physical struggles as Spider-Man, as well as his mental and emotional struggles as Peter Parker. Her strength and determination had never ceased to amaze him. He often wished he was as strong as her. Peter would often lay awake at night, wondering how someone like him could be chosen by someone like her. The perfect woman she was, her angelic complexion and ambitious attitude lighting up every room she entered. 

He loved her. And, by some miracle, she loved him back. 

Not for Spider-Man, but for Peter Parker. For the _real_ him. 

And somehow, that made everything okay. 

Because here they were now, their lips connecting as the clock struck twelve and rang in the new year. A year that, for once, they feel pretty optimistic about. 

Peter Parker’s had a pretty shitty life. He knows that. But this one girl was able to take away all the storm clouds and fill his soul with sunshine. And he couldn’t be happier.


End file.
